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Black or White?

on January 21, 2009

Recently our country put into office a new president.

Recently our country put into office a new president. This is a historic event for our country because, for the first time, we have elected a president who is partly African American. Thousands traveled to Washington DC to witness this historic inauguration (in-au-gu-ra-tion).

What does the Bible say about the different races? In the book of Revelation in the Bible it says that around the throne of God there will be those “out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Revelation 7:9). The Bible talks about different people groups, but ultimately all people groups belong to one race, the human race. We are all descendants of Adam and Eve, and so, if we go back far enough, we are all related.

Did you know that blood from all people, apart from blood type, is basically the same? Blood transfusions can be given to people whether or not they are from the same people group. Acts 17:26 says, “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth.”

Then what makes people’s skin different? All humans basically have the same skin color—a brown pigment called melanin. Although there are a couple of forms of melanin and other pigments and factors playing minor roles in skin color, every human basically has a brown color. Lots of brown is called “black,” and a little brown is called “white.” In actuality, no human really is black and no human is white. There are not different skin colors, only different shades of one basic color, brown.

So it’s not just “black” and “white.” We should never judge a person—or say mean things to them or about them—because of their skin shade. What a difference we would see in our world if people acted in accordance with biblical principles, understanding that all humans are equal before God and that all are sinners in need of salvation.

We are all descendants of Adam, and so Adam’s sin has passed on to all of the human race (Romans 5:12). Because of this we need a Savior. God provided salvation for us by sending His Son, Jesus, to become part of the human race. He lived a sinless life and paid the ransom for the sin of the whole human race.

This inauguration is a historic event for our country, but Jesus’s entry into the world was an eternally significant, world-changing event!